Scallop And Corn Chowder               

 tags (edit): @Try Soon! @Vogel Soup  

 

This rich, sweet chowder is also quite stunning to look at, so it's perfect dinner party fare. Richard Blais, the chef at Fishbone in Atlanta, has created a truly inspired dish. Even people who don't particularly like scallops love them in this chowder, perhaps because they're so tender you can eat them with a soup spoon. Show off the chowder in wide, shallow soup bowls; even pasta bowls would work. Set two nicely seared scallops in the center of each bowl and ladel the chowder around them.

Ingredients

2 cups Canned Creamed Corn
1 quart Heavy Cream Or Half-And-Half
1/2 pound Applewood Smoked Bacon Or Other Smoke
1/2 cup Onion Diced
1/2 cup Celery Diced
1/2 cup Leeks Diced
2 cups Potatoes All-Purpose Or Waxy Diced
2 cups Low-Sodium Chicken Stock
to taste Salt & Pepper
16 ea large Sea Scallops Cleaned
1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
8 tablespoon Butter
1/4 cup Cilantro Chopped
2 tablespoon Fresh Chives Chopped
1 Lime


 

Instructions
 1. Simmer the corn with the cream for 5 minutes.

2. In a large saucepan, cook 2 strips of bacon until crisp. Drain and reserve. Pour off the bacon grease. Combine the onion, celery, leeks, potatoes, and the remaining slices of bacon in the saucepan. Add the chicken stock and cream-corn mixture. Simmer for 30 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

3. Season the sea scallops with salt and pepper. Heat a nonstick skillet and sear the scallops until carmelized all over and medum-rare, just a couple of minutes on each side. Remove from the pan, add the oil and let it heat, then return the scallops to the hot pan, cooking for an additional minute. Add 4 tablespoons of butter and simmer for 1 minute, taking care not to overcook.

4. Season the chowder with cilantro, reserving a little for garnish, and chives. Dice the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and swirl it in, along with the lime juice to taste. Arrange the scallops in the center of the soup plates, ladle the chowder around them and crumble the reserved bacon on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cilantro and serve.




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Yields: 8 Servings
     From BEST AMERICAN RECIPES, 2001-2002, page 48

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